Programmed car washing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A CAR WASHING APPARATUS COMPRISING A PRIMARY ARM PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED AT ONE SIDE OF A PATH OF A CAR TO BE WASHED AND NORMALLY PROJECTING REARWARDLY ALONG SAID PATH. A SECONDARY ARM IS PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED ON ONE END FROM THE FREE END OF THE PRIMARY ARM AND NORMALLY PROJECTS TRANSVERSELY OF THE CAR PATH TO MOUNT A ROTARY BRUSH ON ITS FREE END FOR NORMAL DISPOSITION CENTRALLY IN SAID PATH. A FIRST HYDRAULIC-PNEUMATIC CYLINDER URGES THE SECONDARY ARM TO ITS UNFOLDED POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID PRIMARY ARM AND A SECOND HYDRAULIC PNEUMATIC CYLINDER CONTROLS THE PRIMARY ARM. WHEN A FORWARDLY MOVING CAR CONTRACTS THE BRUSH, THE PRIMARY ARM WILL BE RETRACTED TO PULL THE BUSH ACROSS THE FRONT OF THE CAR AND THE FORWARDLY MOVING CAR WILL FOLD THE SECONDARY ARM ON THE PRIMARY ARM. WHEN THE BRUSH REACHES THE FRONT CORNER OF SAID CAR, THE FIRST CYLINDER WILL CONTINUE TO URGE THE SECONDARY ARM TO ITS UNFOLDED POSITION THUS MOVING THE BRUSH REARWARDLY ALONG SAID ONE SIDE. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BRUSH CLEARS THE FRONT CORNER OF THE CAR, THE PRESSURE TO THE SECOND CYLINDER WILL BE SWITCHED TO EXTEND THE PRIMARY ARM AND HOLD THE BRUSH AGAINST THE SIDE OF THE CAR UNTIL THE REAR CORNER THEREOF IS REACHED, AT WHICH TIME THE BRUSH WILL BE MOVED ACROSS THE REAR OF THE CAR.

Dec. 7, 1971 BARBER 3,624,851

PROGRAMMED CAR WASHING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 5, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. I m/v J. Bmeaae BYW flrraq/vens' Dec. 7, 1971 H. BARBER3,624,851

PROGRAMMED CAR WASHING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 5, 1968 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2FIGA FIG.5

INVENTOR. O I m/v J.' Bmeaene Z, Byqugziw w flrmewens Dec. 7, 1971BARBER 3,624,851

PROGRAMMED CAR WASHING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 5, 1968 :5 Sheets-Sheet 5FIGJO Q I \J I l Ave l SUPPLY A? V V uz 3/ FIG .I

wm'ee fi SUPPL Y INVENTOR. I m/v J.' B42552 Amen/ans United StatesPatent 3,624,851 PROGRAMMED CAR WASHING APPARATUS Ivan J. Barber, 559Evans Ave., Toronto 14, Ontario, Canada Filed Nov. 5, 1968, Ser. No.773,526

Int. Cl. B60s 3/06' US. Cl. 15-21 D Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Acar washing apparatus comprising a primary arm pivotally supported atone side of a path of a car to be washed and normally projectingrearwardly along said path. A secondary arm is pivotally supported onone end from the free end of the primary arm and normally projectstransversely of the car path to mount a rotary brush on its free end fornormal disposition centrally in said path. A first hydraulic-pneumaticcylinder urges the secondary arm to its unfolded position relative tosaid primary arm and a second hydraulic pneumatic cylinder controls theprimary arm. When a forwardly moving car contacts the brush, the primaryarm will be retracted to pull the brush across the front of the car andthe forwardly moving car will fold the secondary arm on the primary arm.When the brush reaches the front corner of said car, the first cylinderwill continue to urge the secondary arm to its unfolded position thusmoving the brush rearwardly along said one side. Immediately after thebrush clears the front corner of the car, the pressure to the secondcylinder will be switched to extend the primary arm and hold the brushagainst the side of the car until the rear corner thereof is reached, atwhich time the brush will be moved across the rear of the car.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present inventionrelates to apparatus for automatically washing the front, side and rearof a car as such car passes thereby.

Description of prior art Car washing devices have been proposed whichinclude pivotal primary arms normally extending transversely of the carpath and pivotally mounting on its free end a forwardly extendingsecondary arm that carries a rotary brush on its free end; a device ofthis type being shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,350,733. Washing devices ofthis type suffer the disadvantage that the forwardly moving car engagesthe brush, carrying it forwardly to pivot the primary arm forwardlythereby resulting in both arms extending forwardly a substantialdistance from the supported end of the primary arm thus necessitatingprovision of a relatively long washing path for the car. Since two suchbrushes are required to wash both sides of the car, the distance of thetotal washing path'is substantial.

Further, such prior art devices rely solely on biasing means to controlbrush travel and experience has proven it impossible to adjust thebiasing means .to move the brush rearwardly along the side of the carslow enough to effect good washing and then to bring it rapidly in andforwardly across the rear of the car to avoid missing any portionthereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The car washing apparatus of present inventionis characterized by a primary arm pivotally supported at one side of thepath of a car and projecting rearwardly therealong. A secondary arm ispivotally carried on the free end of the primary arm and carries a brushon its free end,

such brush being normally disposed centrally in said path. Bias meansinterconnecting the primary and secondary arms restricts folding of thesecondary arm to maintain and brush against the front of the forwardlymoving car and control means retracts the primary arm to move the brushacross the front of the car and to one side thereof. The bias means thenunfolds the secondary arm maintaining the brush against the side of thecar and moving it rearwardly therealong. At a predetermined point thecontrol means extends the primary arm to maintain the brush against thecar and move it forwardly therewith and across the rear thereof.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent fromconsideration of the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carwashing apparatus embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a broken top view, in enlarged scale, of a portion of the carwashing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, exploded view of a detail portion of the carwashing apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, exploded view of another detail of the carwashing apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5 through 9 are diagrammatic top views, in reduced scale, of thecar washing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and depicting the car in variouspositions;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view of a hydraulic-pneumatic circuit whichmay be utilized with the car washing apparatus shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view of a water supply system which may beutilized with the car washing apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The programmed car washingapparatus of present invention generally includes: a primary arm 21pivotally supported on one end from a vertical support post 23 andnormally extending rearwardly of the path of the car 25 to be washed andpivotally mounting a secondary arm 27 on its free end. The secondary arm'27 normally projects transversely of the path of the car 25 and carriesa rotary brush 29 on its free end, such brush being normally disposedcentrally in the path of the car. Hydraulicpenumatic pistons 31 and 33hold the primary and secondary arms 21 and 27, respectively, in theirnormal positions and upon contact of the front of the automobile 25 withthe brush 29, the primary arm piston 31 retracts the primary arm 21 topull the brush 29 to the left side of the car 25 and, concurrently,forward movement of the car folds the secondary arm 27 against thepressure of the hydraulic-pneumatic piston 33, to the broken lineposition shown in FIG. 6. The primary arm cylinder 31 then has pressureapplied to its dead end to urge the primary arm 21 outwardly to maintainthe brush 29 in contact with the side of the car 25 as the secondary arm27 unfolds under the influence of the cylinder 33 thereby moving suchbrush rearwardly along the side of the forwardly moving car 25. When therelative movement between the car 25 and the brush 29 brings the brush29 to the rear corner of the car, the secondary arm 27 will be at itsfully extended position and the cylinder 31 will move the arms 31 and 33forwardly as a unit to sweep the brush 29 across the rear of theforwardly moving car 25 to the waiting position shown in FIG. 5.

The vertical support post 23 is part of a framework, generallydesignated 41, which forms a cabinet for receiving the brush apparatuswhen it is retracted to the position shown in FIG. 9. The primary arm 21is carried from the post 23 by a pair of vertically aligned pivot pins43 and 45. Forward rotation of the arm 21 is limited by a stop 49mounted on the frame 41 and retraction of such arm is limited by a stop50 mounted on the frame 41. Folding of the secondary arm 27 on theprimary arm 21 is limited by a bumper stop 52 mounted on such primaryarm. Referring to FIG. 1, the secondary arm 27 is carried from the freeend of the primary arm 21 by means of vertical pivot pins 51 whichproject from a vertical post 53. A lever arm 55 projects from the post53 and the rod-end of the control cylinder 33 is connected thereto, thedead-end of the cylinder 33 being supported from a lever arm 57projecting rearwardly from the primary arm 21.

Referring to FIG. 1, the brush 29 is suspended from a vertical shaft 59which projects downwardly from a hydraulic motor 61 supported from amounting bracket 63. A hydraulic feedline 65 and a return line 67 leadfrom a hydraulic source (not shown) to the motor 61 and return thehydraulic fluid therefrom.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 10, the hydraulic-pneumatic system includes anair supply 71 which passes air through a pair of filters 73 and 75 and apressure regulator 77. Air from the regulator '77 is introduced to theintake port 79 of a fourway spool valve 81 by means of a conduit 83. Theconduit 83 also connects with a pressure reducer 85 that provides air tothe upper portion, or pneumatic portion, of an air-over-oil pot 87 bymeans of a conduit 89. The lower portion, or oil portion, of theairover-oil pot 87 is connected with the dead-end of the secondary armcylinder 33 by means of a conduit 91 having a flow control valve 93therein. The rod-end of the secondary hydraulic cylinder 33 is connectedwith an oil pot 97 by means of a conduit 99 having a flow control valve101 therein.

A fluid actuated valve 103 has its control port connected with theconduit 99 and its working port connected, with one end of the fourwayspool valve 81 by means of a conduit 105. The opposite end of the spoolvalve 81 is connected with a control valve 111 mounted on the free endof the primary arm 21 by means of a conduit 112. Referring to FIG. 2,the control valve 111 is normally biased to its off position andincludes an actuating arm 113 having a cam 115 pivotally carried thereonby means of a pivot pin 117. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, an actuatinglever 119 is carried on the pivot pin 51 of the secondary arm 27 foropening the control valve 111 when the secondary arm 27 is folded on theprimary arm 21. A manual control valve 123 is also provided forselectively directing air to opposite ends of the spool valve 81 bymeans of conduits 125 and 127.

The spool valve 81 has one outlet 129 connected with the dead-end of theprimary arm cylinder 31 by means of a conduit 131 air-over-oil pot 133,and conduit 135 having a flow control valve 136 therein. The secondoutlet port 141 of the valve 81 is connected with the rod-end of theprimary arm cylinder 31 by means of conduits 143, 145, 147, air-over-oilpot 149, and conduit 151 having a control valve 152 therein.

Referring to FIG. 11, a water source 161 has conduits 163 connectedthereto for supplying water to spray nozzles 165 mounted on the post 53(FIG. 1) of the primary arm 21. A hydraulic actuated valve 171 in theconduit 163 controls flow to the nozzles 165 and has its outletconnected with a conduit 173 including venturi type pump 175 which drawssoap from a tank 177 through a conduit 179 including a flow-controlvalve 181. The hydraulic actuated valve 171 has Water supplied theretoand such water can be selectively bled off through exhaust valves 193and 195 (FIGS. 2 and 11) mounted from the post 23 and at the free-end ofthe primary arm 21, respectively. The valve 195 has an actuating arm 197thereon which is controlled by a cam 199 (FIGS. 2 and 4) mounted on thepivot pin 51, such cam depressing the plunger in the valve when thesecondary arm 27 is folded on the primary arm 21 to supply water to thenozzles 165. When the secondary arm 27 is unfolded and the primary arm21 retracted, a cam 201 (FIGS. 2 and 3) afiixed to the pivot pin 43depresses the plunger in the exhaust valve 193 to relieve pressure onthe valve 171 to enable it to remain open and continue water flow to thenozzle 165'.

In operation the car washing apparatus of present invention will benormally positioned as shown in FIG. 5 with the fourway spool valve 8-1shifted to direct pressure to the dead-end of the primary arm cylinder31 to maintain the primary arm 21 extended. The secondary arm cylinder33 will also have pressure directed through the regulator to itsdead-end to maintain its rod extended and 'keep the secondary arm 27unfolded to maintain the brush 29 disposed centrally in the path of thecar 2'5. When the front of the car engages the brush 29 moving itforwardly, the actuating lever 119 (FIG. 2) will be pivotedcounterclockwise to engage the pivotal cam and depress the actuating arm113 to exhaust the valve 111 thereby relieving pressure from theleft-hand end of the spool valve 8 1 (FIG. 10) to enable such valve toshift and direct pressure through conduits 143, 14-7 and 1'51 to the rodend of the primary arm cylinder 31 thereby retracting such primary arm.Such forced retraction positively pulls the brush 29 across the front ofthe car to assure that it doesnt hang up on any forwardly projectingportions thereof.

As best shown in FIG. 2, continued folding of the secondary arm 27 willrotate the lever 119 counterclockwise beyond the cam 115 to enable theactuating arm 113 to extend and close the valve 111.

IR is desirable that initial retraction of the primary arm 21 berelatively rapid to move the brush 29 across the front of the car thatmovement at the end of the retraction stroke be cushioned to slow thebrush travel gradually. This is accomplished by providing the properratio of air and oil in the air-over-oil pot 1-33- to cause only air tobe escaping from the dead end of the cylinder 31 to the pot 133 duringinitial retraction of the primary arm 21 and to, thereafter, cause oilto be forced from the cylinder 31 to the pot 133- thereby slowingretraction of such cylinder and, consequently, slowing and cushioningbrush travel. As the automobile 25 continues forward movement to theposition shown in broken lines in FIG. 6', the brush 29 will be movedinto the broken line position shown.

After the brush 2-9 clears the front corner, the secondary arm 27 willcommence unfolding causing pressure to build up on the vent valve 103 totrigger it. Triggering of such vent valve relieves pressure from theright-hand end of the fourway spool valve 81 (FIG. 10) thus enablingsuch valve to shift and direct air pressure through the conduits 143,147 and to the dead-end of the primary arm cylinder 31 thereby causingthe primary arm 21 to be extended thus moving both arms 21 and 27forward as a unit. Such forced extension of the primary arm 21 maintainsthe brush 2-9 in contact with the side of the car until the rear cornerthereof is reached, at which time such brush will commence immediateforward travel to maintain the brush in contact with the rear corner ofthe car to assure washing of all portions thereof. As the car continuesits forward movement the primary arm 21 and secondary arm 27 will berotated counterclockwise as a unit to come to rest in the waitingposition shown in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 2, it is noted that when thesecondary arm unfolds, the actuating lever 119 is rotated clockwisetoward the position shown and engages the projecting end of the cam 11'5rotating it counterclockwise on its pivot pin 117 to its broken lineposition to enable such cam to sweep thereby without activating thevalve 111. It will be obvious that the rotational friction between thebrush 2-9 and the car 25 assists in movement of such brush across thefront of said car, rearwardly alongside thereof, and across the back.

'It will be evident that the air-over-oil pots 87, 97, 133, and 149 maybe filled to the degree necessary to provide the slowing of brushmovement and cushioning thereof. Further, the flow control valves 93,101, 136, and 152 are of the type which have an easier direction of flowin the direction from the respective pots 87, 97, 133 and 149 to therespective cylinders 33 and 31 than in the reverse direction. Thiscontrol may be accomplished by providing a needle valve and check valveconnected in parallel and the needle valves may be adjusted to providethe desired cushioning rate throughout various portions of the cycle andat the end of each piston stroke.

It will be clear that during the foregoing described procedure, thewater control valve 185 (FIG. 2) is opened on initial forward rotationof the secondary arm 27 to commerce spraying of water from the nozzle165 onto the brush 29. When the secondary arm 27 reaches its unfoldedposition shown in FIG. 7, the valve 185 will be closed but the valve 193at the supported end of the primary arm 21 will be maintained openeduntil the primary arm 21 reaches its extended position shown in FIG. 5,at which time both valves 193 and 195 will be closed to discontinuewater spray.

The brush 29, when not in use, may be retracted from the car path byadjusting the manual valve 123 (FIG. to bleed off pressure through theconduit 125 to shift the spool valve 81 and apply pressure to the rodend of the primary cylinder 31 to retract the primary arm 21 as shown inFIG. 9. K

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the car washingapparatus of present invention provides for programmed brush movementacross the front of the car, rearwardly along one side thereof andinwardly across the rear thereof to provide the proper brush speed atall points for thorough washing. The particular arrangement of theprimary and secondary arms provides for a relatively large amount offorward and rearward brush travel along the path of the automobile.

Various modifications and changes may be made with regard to theforegoing description without departing from the spirit of the inventionor the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A car washing apparatus for washing the front, side and rear of acar, said apparatus comprising:

a primary arm pivotally supported on one end at one side of the path ofsaid car and extending rearwardly along said path;

a secondary arm pivotally supported on one end from the free end of saidprimary arm and normally extending transversely over said path;

a brush carried on the free end of said secondary arm and rotatableabout a vertical axis;

means for rotating said brush on its axis;

bias means connected between said primary and secondary arms to controlfolding of said secondary arm on said primary arm; and

control means connected with said primary arm and responsive to contactof said lbrush by the front of said car to retract said primary arm,pulling said brush across the front of said car, said means beingfurther responsive to rearward movement of said brush along the side ofsaid car to urge said primary arm toward its extended position tomaintain said brush against the side of said forwardly moving car and tomove said brush inwardly across the rear of said car when the rearcorner thereof is reached.

2. Car washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wheresaid bias meanscontrols unfolding of said secondary arm on said primary arm to controlrearward movement of said brush along said side of said car at apredetermined rate. 3. Car washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1wherein:

said bias means includes a first fluid cylinder; and said control meansincludes a second fluid cylinder and a valve responsive to extension ofsaid first fluid cylinder during unfolding of said secondary arm toapply pressure to said second fluid cylinder to extend said primary arm.4. Car washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said control means includes a fluid cylinder and a valve responsive tofolding of said secondary arm to apply pressure to said cylinder toretract said primary arm. '5. Car washing apparatus as set forth inclaim 1 wherein:

said control means includes a fluid cylinder and a valve responsive tounfolding of said secondary arm to apply pressure to said cylinder toextend said primary arm. 6. Car washing apparatus as set forth in claim1 wherein:

said bias means includes a fluid cylinder and means directing a pressurebias to one end of said cylinder to maintain said secondary arm normallyunfolded. 7. Car washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said bias means includes a fluid cylinder containing a predeterminedamount of hydraulic fluid; an air reservoir connected with one end ofsaid cylinder; and an orifice for freely passing said air and meteringthe flow of said fluid to control the rate of unfolding of saidsecondary arm. 8. Car washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said bias means includes a fluid cylinder containing a predeterminedamount of hydraulic fluid; an air reservoir connected with one end ofsaid cylinder; and an orifice for freely passing said air and meteringthe flow of said hydraulic fluid to control the rate of folding of saidsecondary arm. 9. Car washing apparatus as set forth in claim '1wherein:

said control means includes a fluid cylinder containing a predeterminedamount of hydraulic fluid; an air reservoir connected with one end ofsaid cylinder; and an orifice for freely passing said air and meteringthe flow of said hydraulic fluid to control the rate of folding of saidprimary arm. 10. Car washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said control means includes a fluid cylinder containing a predeterminedamount of hydraulic fluid; and an air reservoir connected with said oneend of said cylinder and an orifice for freely passing said air andmetering the flow of' said hydraulic fluid to control the rate ofunfolding of said primary arm.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,310,824 3/1967 Beer l52l C.33,350,733 11/1967 Hanna 152l C.3

EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 15Dig., 2, 53

